Month: January 2016

Moto 360 (2nd gen)

Last week, I received a package from Amazon containing my new smart watch (Moto 360 2nd gen). Purchasing a smartwatch was on my mind since Google released the 1st generation of the Moto 360 back in September 2014, but I kept on waiting. Two months ago I started comparing reviews of the available Android wears; the competition was mainly between Huawei Watch and Moto 360 2nd gen. I chose the later for one reason only, the diameter size! I thought the 42mm diameter would be a bit small!

Brown vs. Black

Initially, I wanted to buy the black watch (bezel, case and band) that would have looked like this:

moto360black.png

But I didn’t manage to do that due to unavailability on Amazon-FR, and since I don’t live in the U.S, it becomes harder to have it shipped from the Motorolla website. So I ended up buying the silver watch with a brown leather band (check featured image). Well, it didn’t turn out to be a bad thing after all! The combination of silver and brown color looks elegant and beautiful, plus, you can easily buy and change those bands later.

My Review

I bought the watch because I want to get into the field of Android development (phone & wear), so, I will be leaving my detailed reviews for later blogs after digging into its details.

Moto 360 vs. Fitbit HR

Almost a year ago, I bought the Fitbit HR to track my activity. I used to wear it on my right hand with my Tissot watch on the left, well that looked ridiculous!! 🙂 Now, the Moto 360 will replace both devices. But before taking the Fitbit off, I will be comparing the data collected from both devices since they both has some smart features in common. That will be the content of my next blog!

 

My First Audible Experience

The featured image is a screen shot of the last chapter of “Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual” on Audible. It was an indication that I had just finished my first audible book!! Honestly, I never thought I would be listening to books; it always sounded weird to me.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when Philippe suggested that I listen to this book in parallel to the other books I am reading (The Power of Full Engagement and Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code). Knowing Philippe, it has to be worth a try if it something he is suggesting 🙂 After our discussion, I directly logged-in to my Amazon account and noticed that I had two free Audible books!! It was a matter of minutes to have both the book and the Audible application downloaded on my phone.

My Feedback

It turned out I was wrong. It was an exciting and enjoyable experience and here is why:

  1. It is more accessible than reading books. Unlike reading a hard copy of book, you can play Audible at almost any time and place (while driving, jogging, onboard a plane, etc.)
  2. It is unlikely to be exhausted to listen. I was on a night flight back home, after spending the first thirty minutes of the flight reading a book I reached a point where I wasn’t able to digest the words anymore. So I switched to my phone and started listening to the book, I was surprised that the remaining two hours of the flight passed quickly. It was then that I noticed that even if you are too tired to read you still can listen and learn.
  3. You can finish books faster. The above two points have a significant role in speeding up the process. I managed to finish this book in 15 days; it might not be a great timing, but it is definitely faster than reading the book.
  4. Audible is a great application. I haven’t explored each and every feature of this tool yet, but I think it is a great one for the following reasons:
    • You can quickly add bookmarks with notes if needed
    • Synchronization between the web and phone applications makes it easy to switch between the two
    • It motivates the listener by rewarding badges and suggesting bragging about it on social media
    • It has an excellent playback system especially when you get interrupted by a phone call or notification
  5. Soft Skills was a good selection. Probably the book I picked to be my first audible experience helped to build this positive feedback. The book itself is excellent, and a must read for all developers. The narrator, as well, being the author added a unique taste by improvising and sharing his personal experience from outside the book.

I highly advise anyone to give Audible a try. Personally, now am looking for the next book to listen to! Any suggestions? 🙂